The Friendly City will be well represented at an invitational skating event happening in Japan.
WOODSTOCK - The only figure skater from Woodstock to ever win a National Gold Medal is heading to Japan for the ISU Junior Grand Prix.
Grayson Lochhead will be heading to Yokohama for the pairs competition with his partner Olivia Han. Grayson and Olivia won the Novice dance division at the 2016 National Skating Championship. He tells Heart FM this is an elite invitational event and the pair will represent Canada against 30 other nations.
"It's amazing, it's our first one and we have a big role to play so we have to go and show our best, I am very honoured to get this spot."
He does admit that figure skating wasn't his first passion.
"I started playing hockey when I was 4, my dad and my grandpa they liked to play hockey, my mom was always a figure skating coach, she's been a figure skating coach for over 30 years and I started figure skating when I was 7. I don't admit this often but I really didn't like the sport at first, it wasn't until I started training for the dance competitions in Waterloo when I was 11 that I really started to love figure skating."
President of the Woodstock Skating Club Santia Alves says while exciting, the family not only sees the physical and emotionally challenges, but the financial stress as well.
"Travel, competitions, costumes, ice time, lessons and boarding all add up very quickly. With Grayson starting to take his skating in a much more competitive direction, we have easily spent $50,000 over the past 3 years."
Friends and family have come together to start a GoFundMe account which you can see here.

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